Directors

W. Jeff EnglishCEO-Grey Forest Utilities

Jeff has been involved in the natural gas industry for more than 36 years. He has served as CEO since 2003 for Grey Forest Utilities (GFU), a gas distribution utility that serves approximately 15,000 commercial, industrial and residential customers in the Metro San Antonio, Texas area. Prior to joining GFU, Jeff was President/CEO of Pepco Gas Services, Senior Vice President-Energy Services/Natural Gas of Pepco Gas Services, Vice President-Energy Services of Colonial Oil and Colonial Energy, Vice President-Energy Management Services of Pace Global Energy Services, and City Manager of Wrens, Georgia.

Jeff is a Past President and Chairman of the Board of the American Public Gas Association (www.apga.org), the principal advocate for publicly owned gas distribution utilities across the Nation. He is a past member of Municipal Advisory Group of the Gas Research Institute (GRI). He is the recipient of both the Personal Service award and the Distinguished Service award from the American Public Gas Association and has received special recognition from the Gild of Ancient Supplers (www.supplers.org) for his work in expanding the interest in and utilization of natural gas for both human needs and in industrial processes throughout the nation.​Jeff is actively interested in and currently involved in the development of CNG fueling capabilities and options for natural gas customers. Jeff believes that the future expansion of CNG vehicles in the market depends upon the ability to access fueling with self-powered compression technology from distribution utilities on a low-pressure basis.

Rita HansenChief Executive OfficerCo-founder

​Rita has more than 30 years of engineering management, operations management, and project management experience in a diverse range of industries including steel manufacturing, building products and electronic components manufacturing, distribution & warehousing, telecommunications, and software development. Rita has successfully spearheaded major projects that include building and expanding manufacturing plants, implementing new technologies for manufacturing processes, performing company-wide system conversions, and re-engineering basic production operations.

Rita specializes in startup and early phase environments with an emphasis on domestic and international opportunities in the clean tech, alternative energy and renewables, and sustainability arenas. Before re-settling in Central Oregon, Rita and her husband traveled for 7 years visiting 26 countries focusing on exploration, mountaineering, and sailing. Rita holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from University of Washington and over the years has continued her education in the fields of management, mathematics, languages, and education.

​Jim HustonCo-Managing DirectorPortland Seed Fund

Jim has over 20 years of experience in early stage investing and advising for technological companies. Before establishing PSF with Angela Jackson in 2011, Jim was Managing Director at Bay Area growth capital firm Blueprint Ventures, and Director of Strategic Investments at Intel Capital. From those positions, Jim led the investment of more than $67 million dollars into 19 companies that saw returns of more than 2.5 times the invested capital. Along with his executive position at PSF, Jim also sits on the boards of Complier Enterprise and Oregon Public Broadcasting. He has earned an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a B.S. in engineering from the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Portland State University where he teaches an M.B.A. class on venture finance.​

Rod Ray, PhD, PERod is the former Chief Executive Officer at Bend Research, Inc., where heworked for over 30 years. BRI was purchased in 2014 by Capsugel, and Rod remains involved as a member of their Scientific and Business Advisory Board.During his time at Bend Research, Rod held numerous positions specializing in the development and commercialization of a wide range of products. He was instrumental in directing the management of large-scale programs to advance pharmaceutical compounds through the development process to commercialization, and and served as the primary management contact for client companies.In addition to his expertise in advancing pharmaceutical processes and products, Rod has extensive experience in commercializing diverse products for the electronics, energy, medical, agricultural and space industries.​Rod is currently a consultant and board member for various pharmaceutical and technology companies. He holds a master’s degree and doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado and Oregon, holds 23 U.S. patents, and has 46 publications.

Jeff Witwer, PhD, PE Vice President Co-founder

Jeff has extensive executive experience in marketing, business development, and research in high tech and energy-related businesses in Silicon Valley. In addition to Onboard Dynamics, Inc., he founded or co-founded two other companies, one in each of the energy and software industries. He was responsible for international business activities at two more established software companies. Jeff has also been on the board of a successful east coast software company for 13 years.

Upon moving to Bend, Jeff was one of the first instructors in the Energy Systems Engineering degree program at Oregon State University - Cascades. He is engaged in regional economic development and angel investing communities, through active participation in the Bend Venture Conference and Economic Development for Central Oregon. Jeff's extensive education includes BS, MS, and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering and an MBA. Jeff is also a registered professional engineer in California. ​